Hospitals are pushing Congress to include renewals of two Medicare programs set to expire at the end of the federal fiscal year within high-profile legislation to extend payroll tax cuts.
The Medicare-dependent hospital program and the low-volume program are both scheduled to expire on Sept. 30. Hospitals that benefit from the programs hope to include their renewals in the tax bill, which is viewed as one of the few must-pass bills Congress will consider in the current election year, according to their Washington advocates.